Fellowship Program

The Division of Infectious Diseases is fully accredited by the American Board of Internal Medicine for the training of two fellows each year. Our program was most recently reviewed in 2010 and received a full 5-year accreditation. The fellowship training is typically two years in duration (with an optional third year on an individual basis) and offers broad experience in the care of in-patients and out-patients with infectious diseases including the care of patients with HIV/AIDS. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a regional trauma center and performs cardiac, renal, liver and stem cell transplants. The fellowship therefore also offers experience in the management of patients with infections related to these procedures.

The Infectious Diseases Division at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is able to provide Fellows with excellent clinical training as well as provide clinical and laboratory research opportunities.

We have outlined the strengths of our Fellowship program below. Please review this information to see if this program is compatible with the Fellowship you are seeking. Please contact us if you have additional questions.

Strength: The availability of a wide range of Infectious Disease Clinical Case scenarios, including the management of immunocompromised and critically ill patients.

The Comprehensive Care program for patients living with HIV follows over 700 patients and provides services on the main campus and five satellite sites in the region. Seventy to eighty new patients are seen annually. The Comprehensive Care Clinic is a recipient of a Ryan White Part C grant allowing the program to extend care to rural areas. Patient management is facilitated by QuickData/HIV, a comprehensive HIV data management tool developed at Hershey Medical Center.

Strength: Excellent training in the assessment and management of patients living with HIV, including the provision of primary care services, antiretroviral and opportunistic infection management.

The Division of Infectious Diseases runs a busy, varied and interesting Infectious Diseases outpatient clinic with an wide diversity of clinical cases. We have formed a dedicated orthopedic infection co-management service that includes a large population of both inpatients and outpatients. Outpatients are seen in direct collaboration with our orthopedic surgeons.

Strength: Experience in the management of a wide range of Infectious Disease problems, including the follow up of in-patients and experience in the management of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT). Our OPAT program includes an innovative database tool (QuickData/OPAT) for efficient information management.

Clinical or laboratory research opportunities are available as well as training in Infection Control. Fellows also have the opportunity to enroll in a formal certificate program in Clinical Research which offers training in Statistics and Epidemiology, Clinical Trial Design, Decision Analysis and Grant writing.

Strength: Laboratory research opportunities are available in the laboratories of several of our faculty members including Leslie Parent (retroviral gag proteins) and Jose Stoute (malaria).

Strength: Penn State College of Medicine offers two programs, funded by NIH K30 grants, specifically designed to provide clinical research training for physicians. Second year fellows may enroll in a one-year program leading to a Certificate in Clinical Research. At the discretion of the advisory committee this may be continued for an additional year to include a mentored clinical research project, leading to a Master of Science in Health Evaluation Sciences. An MPH program recently opened and is available for fellows interested in infectious diseases epidemiology.

Friendly and approachable faculty who are committed to teaching and ensuring that graduating fellows are comfortable and competent at providing World Class Infectious Diseases care.

Strength: Flexibility exists in the curriculum to tailor clinical or research months to an individual fellow's interests and career goals. For example fellows are encouraged to organize elective periods overseas in developing country settings. In the last several years our Fellows have traveled to Kenya and India to gain ID experience in unique settings. We are exploring the establishment of clinical electives in Panama City, Peru, and Ghana.

More information may be obtained through the Infectious Diseases Society of America Training Program Guide.